Dozens of volunteers formed the letters HIV SOS as activists sought a public health emergency declaration for one of the nation’s highest spikes in such cases. Volunteers in red T-shirts spelled out the letters Saturday in Charleston.
Solutions Oriented Addiction Response co-founder Joe Solomon called on the Charleston City Council and the mayor to act on the HIV crisis and overdoses from prescription pain pills. He says it needs to be treated like the emergency that it is. Federal health officials call the recent spike in HIV cases related to intravenous drug use in the county the most concerning in the United States.
Preliminary data in an investigation of the HIV outbreak in Kanawha County by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a lack of HIV testing in emergency departments or inpatient services, as well as other challenges in accessing services.